


Twilight

by nan



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Banter, M/M, Romance, Secret Relationship, Tired Carisi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 04:36:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11328732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nan/pseuds/nan
Summary: Barba’s voice was sharp when he asked, “Are you planning on transferring?”





	Twilight

Sweat beaded at his brow and Carisi wiped it away absently, squinting up into the dying light. Central Park was beautiful in twilight; the sun’s fading rays casting orange and pink streaks across the sky, turning everything a golden hue. 

Carisi sighed deeply and let it out slowly, slouching further into the park bench and stretching his arms across the back of it. He tilted his head back, the humidity of the late summer heat dampening his hair, causing it to curl and cling to his forehead and temple. Carisi had spent most of his Friday sitting at his desk, going over testimonies and witness statements of the latest underaged prostitution bust. It had been both mind numbingly tedious and heartbreakingly bleak. Carisi thought he’d managed to build a wall to block out the day-to-day horror of his work but sometimes it just got to be too much. Reading about what young girls had to do just to get a bite to eat was definitely one of those times. 

He’d ducked out when the rest of the team were making plans to get together for drinks. Normally he’d be the first to say yes - if he weren’t the one making the plans in the first place - but for once he wanted to be alone. He’d gone home, changed into basketball shorts and a tank top, and headed to the park. 

He didn’t know how long he sat there before he felt someone standing over him. Opening his eyes, he looked up. “Oh, Hey, Counselor.” 

“Detective.” Barba’s eyes were narrowed, expression speculative. “So you _are_ alive. I was beginning to wonder.” 

Carisi blinked and realized that it’d gotten much darker, the shadows now moonlit. He sat up and rubbed a hand over his face. “Wondered, not worried? I’m hurt, Barba.” 

Barba huffed out laughter, cutting it off as if he’d not wanted it to escape, and nodded. “Do you mind?” 

“What? Oh, nah, have a seat.” Carisi slid over and Barba sat down. “What are you doing here?” 

Barba sighed. “The same as you, I imagine. It was a difficult day, to say the least. I wanted to relax.” 

Carisi cut his eyes over, one eyebrow raised. “Really? I know you better then that. You relax with scotch and nice music.” 

“And you relax by surrounding yourself with friends,” Barba shot back. “So tell me, what are _you_ doing out here?” 

Always the lawyer. “I dunno,” Carisi said, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re right, it’s been a rough day. I guess I just wanted to spend some time alone.” 

“Oh? Is that so?” Barba squared his shoulders. “I’ll just leave you to it then-” 

“Don’t be like that, you know you’re fine,” Carisi said, putting his hand on Barba’s arm briefly before letting it go. “I just...it was all paperwork today, right? Just going over the case, you know? Easy-peasy. But sometimes that’s even worse, looking over all this awful shit that happened to this kid, all neatly laid out in paperwork and folders. Like...like it’s sterile, you know? It’s just...emotionless facts. Like there’s not a traumatized kid behind it.” He let his head drop and shook it. “God, Raf, sometimes I think maybe I’m not meant to be at SVU.” It was a risk, both admitting his fears about his place on the team and using Barba’s nickname in public, no matter how secluded they were now. 

Barba’s voice was sharp when he asked, “Are you planning on transferring?” 

Carisi was slow to answer. “No,” he said finally. “No, I’m needed here. I can do some real good work here. I _am_ doing good work here. I wouldn’t feel right just leaving.” 

“Well there you have it,” Barba said. “When push comes to shove, you want to stay. So you’re meant to be at SVU in whatever predetermined way you want to take it.” 

Carisi snorted. “Thanks, Counselor,” he said, sitting back. “Somehow, that actually did make me feel better.” 

“Just stating facts,” Barba said, getting up and rolling his shoulders. There was something off about him now. He was all nervous energy and his gaze when he looked down at Carisi was heavy. “Now, do you want to keep sitting here feeling sorry for yourself and do you want to have dinner with me?” 

Carisi looked up, eyes wide. “Yeah?” he asked, a smile spreading across his mouth. Romantic gestures from Barba were rare. An ADA and a detective weren’t suppose to be whatever they were. Carisi knew the score, same as Barba, but he often got the impression that it bothered him a lot more than it bothered Barba. 

Barba looked at him for a moment before one side of his mouth went up in a half-smile. “Yes. But only if you shower and put on something decent. You look like you’re going to start begging for spare change at any minute.” 

Carisi scoffed and stood up. Leaning over Barba, he said with a roguish grin, “How ‘bout you come with me and make sure I get the hard to reach places?” 

Barba laughed again, that same, reluctant huff. “That was truly awful. I don’t even want to have dinner with you now.” But as they walked through the park, silver moonlight shining down and streetlamps casting their golden glow, his fingers tangled up with Carisi’s and squeezed gently.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my fffc card, the prompt was moonlight shadows. I'm suppose to be writing fun summer romance-y stories for this prompt table but that's kind of hard with a fandom like this and trying to write for other fandoms just isn't working for me right now, haha. 
> 
> [I'm on tumblr](http://yaynan.tumblr.com)!


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